


'Tis The Season

by carson_M



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-04 09:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 8,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5328803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carson_M/pseuds/carson_M
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey! I'm planning on posting a one shot a day until Christmas. I don't know how well this will work because I'm getting really busy, but I'll try.<br/><3</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. It's Christmas!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I'm planning on posting a one shot a day until Christmas. I don't know how well this will work because I'm getting really busy, but I'll try.  
> <3

     “It’s Christmas! Christmas!” Kelley yelled as she ran through her apartment.

     “It’s the first of December, Kell. That’s hardly Christmas.” Hope replied.

     “I don’t care! It’s Christmas!” Kelley exclaimed. 

     Kelley skipped into the kitchen, where Hope sat sipping on a cup of coffee. Hope could see that Kelley was wearing what Hope could only assume was the first of many christmas sweaters. Hope couldn’t help but chuckle at the sweater which depicted a gingerbread man swinging on an ornament, similar to how Miley Cyrus swung on a wrecking ball in that youtube video that Kelley made her watch.

     Kelley grabbed the packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate and poured it into a red and green striped mug that Hope had no idea Kelley owned. Kelley then went into the pantry and poured three spoonfuls of sugar and a handful of mini marshmallows into the mix. Hope walked over to Kelley and took the mug from her.

     “No.” Hope chided firmly.

     “But Hope,” Kelley looked up at Hope with puppy eyes, “You don’t want to ruin Christmas, do you? Part of Christmas is hot chocolate.”

     Hope sighed. “You can have hot chocolate, but you can’t put three spoonfuls of sugar in it. There’s already marshmallows.”

     Kelley pouted. “But I like sugar.”

     “I know.” Hope responded, gently kissing Kelley on her forehead. She set the mug on the counter. Kelley went back into the pantry and returned with a half eaten chocolate fudge pop tart. Smiling at Hope, she took another bite.

     “I’m not even going to ask where you got that.” Hope said, slightly amused, slightly exasperated.

     “Good.” Kelley smirked.

     Kelley then went over to her laptop that she conveniently kept in the kitchen. After a few seconds of her typing, Christmas music flooded the small apartment. 

     “Dance with me!” Kelley asked. She then started doing the macarena, her signature dance move.

     Hope rolled her eyes, but joined in, placing her hands on Kelley’s waist, interrupting Kelley’s dramatic hip swivel. The two swayed for a while, listening to the comforting sounds of Michael Buble’s voice. 

     Before they knew it, the song ended, and was followed by a loud child asking for a hippopotamus for Christmas. 

     “Hope,” Kelley began, “Do you know what I want for Christmas?”

     “If you say a hippopotamus, you’re only going to get coal.” Hope said flatly.

     Kelley was silent.

     “Ha!” Hope smirked, “I know you so well.”

     “Well,” Kelley said, “If you know me so well, you know that I want my hot chocolate.”

     “Fine.” Hope sighed while smiling. Kelley’s antics never failed to amuse her.

     Kelley skipped over to the counter with her confiscated mug full of sugar. She poured the kettle full of already warm water into the mug. Hope wondered how Kelley managed to skip around the tiny kitchen, but smiled anyways. 

     Kelley took a giant gulp of her beverage. “It burns! It burns!” She yelled while running to the freezer to gab ice to put on her tongue.

     “Oh Kelley!” Hope exclaimed, “There was steam coming from the mug. What did you expect?”

     “I forgot hot chocolate was hot.” Kelley pouted.

     Hope walked over to Kelley, who rested her head on Hope’s shoulder. “I’m sorry that you burnt your tongue.” Hope said quietly. “But it serves you right for putting in a cup of sugar in it.” 

     “Hey!” Kelley exclaimed.

     Hope tried to contain her laugh, but a small chuckle managed to escape. “I’m sorry!” She said, amused, “I couldn’t help it.”

     Kelley crossed her arms, miffed at being made fun of for her tongue injury.

     Quickly distracted by something she saw out of the corner of her eye, Kelley ran over to the window in the living room. “Hope!” She called, “Come here! It’s snowing!”

     Hope stood by Kelley at the window. They watched as the bright white powder danced in the air and dusted the ground, slowly accumulating into a thin layer of white. 

     “It’s a Christmas miracle.” Kelley whispered.

     Hope turned to Kelley. “You’re twenty five days off.” Hope said.

     “Twenty four. Don’t count today. It makes Christmas come faster.” Kelley smiled.

     “I can’t wait.” came the reply.

 


	2. Operation Christmas Puppy

     Ali woke up to the smell of coffee wafting from the kitchen of her apartment. She got out of bed and moved to the kitchen where she took the mug of steaming coffee from Ashlyn’s outstretched hand. Lightly, she pecked Ashlyn’s lips to thank her for making breakfast. Ashlyn slid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Ali.

     “What have I done to deserve you?” Ali asked.

     Ashlyn chuckled lightly and sat next to Ali. She seemed to be hiding something behind her back. Ali tried to peek around her her girlfriend to see what she was holding, but Ashlyn quickly moved to hide whatever she was holding.

     “You’re messing up my presentation!” Ashlyn fake pouted.

     “Your presentation, huh?” Ali asked.

     Ashlyn set the object that  she was hiding on the table. It was a red folder with the words Operation Christmas Puppy written on it in thick black letters.

     “You’ve been planning this for a while, haven’t you?” Ali asked, slightly apprehensively.

     “Months.” Ash replied, “Just give me a second and I’ll set up the powerpoint.”

     “Powerpoint!” Ali exclaimed, “When did you get the time to do all this?” She asked while looking at the pages of research on shelters and dog care in the folder.

     “I have my ways.” Ashlyn replied with a smirk. 

     Ashlyn clicked a slide, and Ali was bombarded by a collage of adorable puppies wearing Christmas bows. 

     “Oh wait!” Ashlyn exclaimed, “I forgot my prop!” She ran into the coat closet and brought out a stuffed golden retriever puppy. She then gave it to Ali to hold. “It completes the experience.” She promised.

     Ali chuckled and, to oblige Ashlyn, held the puppy in her lap.  Ashlyn continued going through the slideshow pointing out the benefits of having a puppy including such examples as, puppies are happy. Therefore, if we get a puppy, we’ll be happy. There were some more realistic concerns addressed, and all together, Ali was impressed by the effort Ash put in to the presentation.

     “One question.” Ali stated, “What are we going to do while we’re at camp?”

     “Well,” Ashlyn began, “Jill lets Christie bring her kids, so I don’t see a problem with bringing a puppy.” Ash managed to keep a straight face for approximately three seconds before collapsing into a fit of laughter.

     “In all seriousness,” she continued, “I checked with our neighbors. They’d be more than happy to watch a puppy on occasion.”

     Ash clicked to the final slide which just contained the cutest black lab puppy that Ali had ever seen and the word please.

     “How could I say no to that face?” Ali asked.

     “Wait! Are you serious?” Ashlyn exclaimed, “I can really get a puppy?”

     “You know I was going to get you one anyways? It’s all you’ve been able to talk about for months now. I just find it amusing that you did all of this work.” Ali said.

     At this point Ashlyn stopped excitedly jumping up and down and ran over to hug Ali. “Thank you so freaking much!” Ashlyn said.

     “I love you.” Ali replied.

     “I love you back. But I’m gonna love the puppy more.” Ashlyn said with a smirk.

     Ali rolled her eyes. “I’m starting to re think this puppy thing.” She teased before Ashlyn hugged her again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I have an update today. So far I'm two for two. How impressive.  
> Thanks for reading. Like, a lot of people read it. That was kinda awesome, so thanks for that.  
> <3


	3. Packing

     Tobin jerked her dresser drawer open for the third time. She carelessly rummaged through, searching for a specific item of clothing. She slammed the drawer closed and proceeded to pull the bottom drawer out.

     “Lex,” She hollered, “Have you seen my UNC hoodie?”

     “Try the laundry!” came the reply.

     Tobin walked down the narrow apartment hallway to Alex’s room, where the hamper full of clean laundry was. Not bothering to knock, she entered the room to see clothes strewn about the floor and furniture. In the center of the mess was an overflowing suitcase and Alex comparing two different bikinis.

     Tobin glanced at the mess and the person in the middle of it. Tobin watched as Alex, unable to make up her mind between the two swimsuits, tossed them both into the already full suitcase. Slightly exasperated, she rolled her eyes at the packing mayhem. 

     “Do you really need seven swim suits?” Tobin asked.

     “We’re going to Hawaii,” Alex stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “I need my bikinis. Anyways, I have, like, five, not seven.”

     “You know we’re going to play soccer, not lounge by the pool, right?” Tobin asked jokingly.

     “Whatever. What did you need in here anyways?” Alex asked.

     “I was looking for my UNC hoodie. It isn’t in my room”

     Alex got a guilty look on her face. “I haven’t seen it.” she said.

     “Alex,” Tobin warned, “Do I need to tell the team about how you thought that Donald Trump was a cartoon character?”

     “I may or may not know where it is.” Alex mumbled.

     “Go on.” Tobin encouraged.

     “It may or may not be in my suitcase.” Alex added

     “Lex!” Tobin exclaimed, “I’ve been looking for that for an hour now.”

     “It’s not my fault you’re terrible at finding stuff! Really, you searching for so long says more about you than me.”

     Tobin sat down on the carpeted floor and started rummaging through Alex’s suitcase for her hoodie. Before she could find it, however, Alex pushed Tobin’s hand out of the case.

     “It’s my hoodie now.” she stated.

     “But it’s my favorite hoodie!” Tobin complained. She made a move to grab the sweatshirt back from the case, but it was promptly grabbed by Alex.

     "Exactly,” Alex explained, “It’s your favorite hoodie.”

     “So you want me to suffer?” Tobin asked teasingly. Suddenly, Tobin made a move to grab the hoodie. Unfortunately for Tobin, Alex jumped to the top of her bed and held the sweatshirt above her head, out of Tobin’s reach.

     “Now that’s just childish.” Tobin said while jumping so she could try to reach her hoodie. She got up on the bed, but Alex’s long arms made it impossible for Tobin to regain possession of her precious hoodie.

     “Your hoodie reminds me of you when you’re gone.” Alex explained. Tobin stopped trying to grab her sweatshirt, allowing Alex to safely sit down on the bed without the hoodie being wrestled from her possession.

     “You know I’ll only be a room away. We’ll still spend all of our time together, right?” Tobin assured Alex.

     “It just won’t be the same.” Alex pouted, “It’s been so nice getting you to myself recently. I’m going to miss you.”

     “I know.” Tobin said as she wrapped her arm around Alex’s shoulders. “I’ll miss you too.”

     Tobin slid off the bed and placed the hoodie in Alex’s suitcase. Alex moved so that she was sitting on the floor next to Tobin, and rested her head on Tobin’s shoulder. The two stayed that way until they absolutely had to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one isn't really Christmas themed, sorry about that. I'm just really excited about the upcoming victory tour games.  
> 3 for 3! I'm on a roll!  
> <3


	4. It's on fire!

     Tobin tried to make cookies. In hindsight, this was a terrible idea. But now, with the kitchen on fire, there was nothing she could do about her poor decision making.

     “Alex!” She yelled, “I made a mistake!”

     While waiting for Alex to save her, Tobin took the dish towel from the counter and started fanning the smoke detector in hopes that it wouldn’t go off. It did. 

     “Alex!” she hollered again over the deafening beeps of the alarm.

     Alex did not seem to be grasping the seriousness of the situation, and much to Tobin’s dismay was still in her bedroom, unaware to the chaos in the kitchen. From the corner of her eye, Tobin could see the remaining dish towels catch fire. Frantically, she searched for some way to put the fire out. Unfortunately, the sink was surrounded by a circle of flames, so Tobin couldn’t douse the flames with water. Tobin wondered where they had put the fire extinguisher. She knew the apartment had one, but it was nowhere to be found.

     Not wanting to turn away from the flames, she called out to Alex again. “I need help!”

     This time, Alex stumbled out of her room, unaware from the disaster in the kitchen. 

     “What’s that noise?” She asked groggily, “ I thought it was my alarm, but it won’t stop beeping.”

     “That’s the fire alarm!” Tobin yelled, panicked.

     Suddenly, Alex became aware of the flames engulfing the kitchen. “God Tobin,” She exclaimed, “What did you do?”

     “I was trying to make gingerbread. We were going to decorate little gingerbread men, and it was going to be cute. But it can’t be cute now, because the kitchen is on **fire**!” Tobin explained rather loudly.

     “Just use the fire extinguisher!” Alex stated.

     “Oh gee. If only I had thought of that.” Tobin said sarcastically, “I can’t find the fire extinguisher. It’s disappeared.”

     “I guess I’ll just do it myself.” Alex said as she ran to the bathroom. Apparently, that was where the fire extinguisher was kept. She ran back to the kitchen, and started spraying the flames until they were put out. 

     Alex slid to the ground, and dropped the extinguisher. “It’s too early for fire.” She complained.

     Tobin surveyed the damage. The kitchen escaped surprisingly unscathed. The walls were charred, but that was nothing some paint couldn’t fix. The cookies however, were destroyed. Tobin had spent hours mixing and shaping them. Now, they were reduced to ashes and one singed leg.

     “I’m sorry, Lex. I tried.” Tobin said.

     “This is why we have the rule about you not using oven and stove without supervision, Tobin.” Alex said, “This is worse than the kitchen disaster of 2013.”

     “I don’t know.” Tobin said, “2013 was pretty bad. The ceiling still has the spoon lodged in it.”

     The two looked up toward the spoon in remembrance. “You’re never going to let me live that one down, will you?” Tobin asked.

     “Nope.” Alex replied, “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to run down to that bakery that you like and see if they have any gingerbread and we can decorate it here. While I’m gone, don’t you **dare** touch anything in the kitchen.”

     “But what if I get hungry, can’t I pour myself some cereal?” Tobin asked.

     “Tobin, remember the last time you poured yourself cereal?” Alex asked, “You spilled the milk all over the kitchen, and I was finding cheerios on the floor for months. You haven’t been aloud to make cereal for months now.”

     “Can I make toast?” Tobin asked.

     Alex rolled her eyes. “I’m leaving now. Try not to set the house on fire while I’m gone.” She called as she shut the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! If you guys have anything that you want me to write or any prompts for me, please tell me. Because I have 21 days left, and I don't have 21 ideas.   
> Thank you.  
> <3


	5. Satan Clause is Coming to Town

     Ever since Kelley was a little girl, watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade had been one of her favorite holiday traditions. She loved the giant balloons, and secretly hoped that the people would let go of one, and she would be able to watch it float away into the distance. 

     This year, she was watching the parade cuddled up with a blanket, some hot chocolate, and her girlfriend by her side. 

     “You know, I think that our parade was better. It was warmer.” Kelley said pointing to the people on the screen clad in bubbled coats, earmuffs, and all sorts of hats and gloves, yet were still huddled together, shivering.

     “Our parade was better.” Hope agreed.

     “It didn’t have the Rockettes, though.” Kelley said, “Do you think that if we paid our teammates enough they would have done the can-can on their floats?”

     “You don’t want to see Pinoe doing the can-can.” Hope warned, “It’s not a pretty sight.”

     Kelley turned her attention back to the screen. “Okay, this is like the seventh high school marching band. I don’t need to see any more of these. Our parade didn’t have any lame high school marching bands.”

     Hope chuckled. She started to say something about the excess of marching bands, when she was interrupted by kelley exclaiming, “Look! It’s sesame street!”

     Every year, Kelley would get exceptionally excited about Sesame Street. She claimed that it was because of childhood nostalgia, but Hope had caught her watching the re runs on her laptop. Apparently Kelley enjoyed learning about colors and shaped through song. Hope wondered if she could incorporate learning about new soccer formations through song. That would be thoroughly embarrassing for Kelley, who had the singing voice of a dying vulture. Hope decided that she would bring up the topic to Jill at the next camp. Not to try seriously, just to embarrass kelley.

     “Hope!” Kelley said excitedly, “It’s Satan!” 

     “What?” Hope asked confusedly.

      “I said it’s Santa!” Kelley said again.

     “No,” Hope said, “You said Satan.”

     “Hope,” Kelley stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Satan wouldn’t be in a parade. That’s just stupid. People would go crazy and Macy’s would be sued.”

     “You still said Satan.” Hope mumbled, just loud enough for Kelley to hear her. 

     “Lies! Just like the lies Satan tells to unsuspecting parade goers in hopes that they will convert to Satanism!” Kelley thundered.

     “Did you just call me Satan?” Hope asked.

     “Yes.” Kelley said with a smirk.

     “Well I guess Satan will be preparing your turkey so you had better watch out. Satan might poison it.” Hope turned to go to the kitchen.

     “It’s not fair to murder people on Thanksgiving!” Kelley yelled at Hope, who looked back at Kelley with a mischievous smirk on her face.

    “And I said Santa!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who sent in a prompt. I'll get around to writing them. I really appreciate it.  
> I had to write today's really quickly, so sorry that it's short and not that great.   
> As always, thanks for reading!  
> <3


	6. Let the games begin

      Hope woke up to find a note on the pillow next to her, where Kelley usually slept. It instructed Hope to stay in the bedroom and not move until Kelley came to get her. The note said that food had been left, and Hope could see a box of raisin bran in the corner of the room, milk and spoon not included. 

     Usually Hope indulged Kelley’s random ideas, and all that Hope had planned for the day was some reading, so she decided to obey Kelley and wait to see what would happen.

     A few hours into munching on raisin bran and reading, Hope’s door briefly opened, and Tobin and Alex were pushed in, presumably by Kelley.

     “What are you doing, Kelley?” Tobin yelled through the door. There was no reply.

     “Not to be rude or anything,” Tobin addressed Hope, “but why are we here?”

     “I was wondering the same thing.” Hope said.

     “Kelley just showed up at our house at six this morning, and kidnapped us. She refused to tell us anything.” Alex explained.

     “I’m assuming she has some elaborate plot up her sleeve. I’m just going to watch what she has planned for us.” Hope stated.

     She then sat back in her plush chair and continued to read while Tobin and Alex sat on the floor. Alex gazed at her phone for a while, while Tobin stared off into space. Hope could only imagine what she was thinking about. Hope admired Tobin’s ability to be completely unaware of reality for hours.

     The group sat in their formation until Alex got hungry. “Is there any food in here, or does Kelley expect us to starve?” Alex asked.

     Tobin, awakened from her daze replied, “Hope has raisin bran.”

     Alex’s face crinkled into a disgusted looking face. “So Kelley does want us to starve.” She said, “Do you think that she’s going to keep us captive forever.”

     “Yes.” Tobin deadpanned, “We are her prisoners now.” Tobin managed to keep a straight face for a good three seconds before bursting into laughter.

     They were interrupted from their laughter by Kelley barging through the door. She walked into the middle of the room and stood on the bed. 

     “You must be wondering why I gathered you here today.” She began.

     “Actually, this is all very normal behavior for you, and I’m not confused at all.” Tobin said.

     “Silence!” Kelley bellowed in her best attempt to be frightening, but he only effect was Hope trying to hold in a giggle.

     “As I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, I have gathered you all today for a tournament of skill. They winner receives riches and glory. The losers will be put to death.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured that I would make this a two part update. I had a lot more to write and I wanted to be able to update today.   
> Happy first nigh of Hanukkah for anybody who is celebrating!  
> <3


	7. And the Winner is...

     “Okay, You won’t actually be put to death, but you will have to do something really embarrassing.” Kelley said.

     “Okay,” Tobin said, confused, “but what are we actually doing?”

     “We,” Kelley announced, “are going to play Fifa.”

     “Oh no.” Hope groaned.

     The day Fifa sixteen came out, Kelley spent twelve hours mastering the game. Never before had Hope seen Kelley that dedicated to something other than soccer. The game seemed to take up all of Kelley’s time. She would spend hours a day trying out new formations. She would then tell Jill about how she should play Hope an Ashlyn as strikers because in the video game, she beat Germany with that idea. In short, she was addicted. Now Hope knew what she had been training for. She was worried.

     Kelley jumped down from the bed where she had been speaking, and ushered the group into the living room, which had been set up with soccer decorations from the nearby party store and about thirty soccer balls.

     “Where did you get all of the balls?” Hope asked Kelley, as Tobin immediately started juggling with one of them.

     “I got it from the Seattle gear staff. I didn’t _ask_ per se, but I don’t think that they’ll be missed.” Kelley explained.

     “You stole…” Hope began, but decided to drop it. The balls wouldn’t be missed. 

     Then, Hope saw something out of the corner of her eye that left her speechless. “You bought an x-box one? Just for this occasion?” Hope managed to choke out.

     “Yep!” Kelley chirped.

     “But I thought we said that we would have _discussions_ before we made significant financial decisions. Such as buying an x-box one.” Hope whispered.

     “My bad.” Kelley apologized.

     Hope decided to move on from the fact that there was a brand new, very expensive gaming console in her living room, and continue to go along with Kelley’s plan.

     Kelley clapped her hands to gain everybody’s attention, and stood on the couch to explain the rules. “Everybody will play everyone else, and the players with the least points will play each other to determine third and fourth place. Then, I will play the second place player and win. I will receive this giant trophy after I win.” Kelley pointed to a replica of the world cup made out of actual cups, spray painted gold. Hope wondered when Kelley had the time to make elaborate trophies. 

     “Let the games begin!” Kelley shouted.

     The preliminary rounds went as Hope expected. Kelley showed dominance at the video game. Despite Alex’s competitive nature, she was trounced by everyone, proving herself to be a terrible Fifa player, and an even worse loser. Just slightly better than Alex was Hope, who was beaten by Kelley 11-0. Kelley claimed that she was being merciful towards her girlfriend by showing restraint and playing Becky as a forward along with herself in goal.

     The biggest surprise was Tobin, who, despite only having played the game once, was amazing at it. She beat Alex by fourteen, and soundly defeated Hope. By the time she had to play Kelley, Kelley had moved all of her players into their normal positions, and just barely managed a 1-0 victory.

     The group took a short break for snacks while Tobin studied strategy on her phone.  Tobin was learning all of the controls and tricks while Hope and Alex played for third place. 

     Surprisingly, Hope got off to an early 2-0 lead, but by the time the half was over, Alex had scored twice and was making a come back, cheered on by a giddy Kelley.

    “Beat Hope! Beat Hope!” Kelley chanted.

    “You traitor.” Hope teased.

     “What? Kelley asked, “I just really want you to lose.”

     And lose she did. In the last three seconds, Alex managed to score a rocket from thirty yards out. Hope was convinced that the shot was completely accidental, but it caused her defeat.

     “Yes!” Alex cheered and started to do a victory lap around the room. She leapt up in the air while pumping her fists. Tobin looked up, amused with the celebration.

     “Where you this excited when you scored in the world cup? Tobin asked.

     “No.” Alex replied, “This is a big deal!”

     “Time for me to beat Tobin.” Kelley announced.

     “We’ll see.” Tobin said with a sly smile on her face. 

     To keep the game fair, they both played as the United States. Tobin took the home kit, as Kelley preferred the blue. 

     The game began by Tobin passing the ball all the way back to her goalkeeper, who waited until Kelley’s teams moved up the field, and then launched the ball to the other half, where Tobin’s forward was waiting to run on to the ball and score.

     Kelley threw her controller down in disgust. “I’m warning you, Heath.” She said menacingly. 

     Tobin just continued to play the game, and managed to score once again before the half was over. Bypassing halftime, Kelley launched into the second half, not giving Tobin the time to think. Kelley started the second half with the strategy of foul Tobin every time she got the ball. This lead to two of Kelley’s players, Cheney and Julie, being sent of because of red cards. The game was not going well for Kelley. 

     All hope for her went away when she fouled Tobin in the penalty box, resulting in a penalty kick, which Tobin scored easily. Kelley kept playing with a fervor the Hope had never seen before, and won back a goal in the 81st minute, but it was not enough, and she was defeated 3-1.

     Kelley did not take it well. She grabbed the cup trophy and declared, “As the founder of the tournament, I’m launching a full scale investigation as to how Tobin cheated. In the mean time, I am declaring myself the winner of the first ever annual Fifa tournament. I shall display my trophy with pride.”

     “Annual?” Tobin whispered to Alex, “We have to do this every year?”

     “As the winner,” Kelley continued, “For your embarrassing punishment for losing, I am going to make all of you go to the mall and take pictures with Santa. When he asks you what you want for Christmas, you will tell him that you want to be as awesome as you’re friend Kelley. I will arrange times for you to do this.”

     “I have to do this?” Tobin asked, “I won!”

     “Cheaters can’t be winners.” Kelley admonished. “I look forward to seeing you repent with Santa. This will be great fun!” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this doesn't make sense, just read the previous chapter.  
> I'm going to start writing the prompts you guys sent in. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.  
> Part three? Tell me if you would be interested in the losers meeting Santa.  
> <3


	8. Tell Santa What you Want for Christmas

     Kelley refused leave the trophy at home. Now, she was carrying a stack of golden cups stuck together by hot glue through the mall. Not wanting to waste any time, Kelley had ushered the gang into her car and driven them to the nearest mall.

     “Does everybody remember what they have to ask Santa for?” Kelley asked her three companions, all sitting in the back seat.

     “Yes.” Tobin grumbled from where she was sandwiched between Alex and Hope in the middle seat. Kelley had told them that only winners could sit in the front, and cheaters got the middle seat. Tobin felt that this was a great injustice, especially since she hand’t cheated.

     They pulled into the mall parking lot, and circled around for a while before finding and pulling into a spot. 

     “Now before you get out, I have to give you guys presents!” The look of malicious joy on Kelley’s face as she pulled out the ugliest Christmas sweaters ever to be created could only be compared to small children who used magnifying glasses to watch ants burn. 

     The sweaters were the worst thing the three had ever laid eyes on. Instead of being the expected colors of red or green, the sweaters were brown. And not just any brown. They were the kind of brown that could only be compared to hot chocolate mixed with arsenic, blood, and copious amounts of vomit. As if that wasn’t bad enough, in striped pink and red letters, the phrase, ‘Mommy’s little elf’ adorned the hideous garments. There were sequins. Many, many sequins.

     “How did you find something so awful?” Hope asked, holding the sweater between her index finger and thumb.

     “I had them custom made!” Kelley chirped, “Now put them on, and let’s meet Santa!”

     “Santa’s an anagram for Satan.” Alex mumbled to herself.

     “What was that you said?” Kelley asked merrily.

     “I said,” Alex boomed, “that I love Santa.”

     “Good girl.” Kelley praised.

     The group walked into the mall and soon found Santa land. There was a long line of children standing with their parents, excitedly jumping up and down at the prospect of meeting Santa. Hope thought that she was in Hell.

     The line moved slower than Hope thought was possible. They had been standing in the line for an hour before they could even see Santa. 

     The elves were no help. Half of them were bored teenagers who stole glances at their phones when they thought that nobody was watching. Whenever one of those elves would look at Tobin, Alex, or Hope, they would burst out laughing at their ridiculous outfits. As if the elf outfits the teenagers were wearing were any better.

     Hope couldn’t decide which was worse: The bored teenage elves, or the other half of employees. The other half were the overly excited elves. They would kneel before the children and ask to sing Christmas carols. Every now and then, one of the enthusiastic elves would try to engage the bored teenage elves, to no avail.

     After two hours of waiting, the group had finally made it to Santa. Kelley stood by with a camera as Alex walked up to Santa with a grimace on her face.

     “Now remember what you want for Christmas.” Kelley said.

     Alex glared at the Santa witheringly as he patted his lap, trying to signal her to sit on it.

    “Sit on the nice Santa’s lap, Alex.” Kelley coaxed.

     If looks could kill, the glare that Alex flashed Kelley would have caused a mass extinction of the human population. Reluctantly, Alex sat on the Santa’s lap.

     “Now what would you like for Christmas?” the santa chuckled.

     Alex rolled her eyes before saying, “For christmas, I want to be just like my best friend and roll model, Kelley. Also, I want better endorsements.” Alex sighed before continuing, “Can you do that, Santa?” 

     The Santa was confused. Kelley got closer to take a picture for her wall. The gesture that Alex made at Kelley was such that parents had to shield their children’s eyes and then have a frank talk with their children about the appropriate usage of their middle fingers.

     Tobin was next. Tobin had the most cause to be annoyed, as she was the actual winner of the tournament. However, she was not in as bad of a mood as Alex as she went to sit on Santa’s lap. This was all part of Tobin’s plan. 

     “I will pay you one hundred dollars if you do not ask me what I want for Christmas.” Tobin whispered in the ear of the Santa.

     “What was that?” Kelley interrupted.

     “I was just telling Santa how much I admired his work.” Tobin covered.

     “Well maybe you can tell Santa what you want for Christmas.” Kelley suggested forcefully.

     Tobin pouted. “For Christmas, I would like to stop cheating against my best friend Kelley. It is unfair when I cheat at Fifa and then win. Forgive me Santa.” she deadpanned.

     “Can I still get the hundred bucks?” The Santa asked.

     “No!” Tobin said, disgusted. Tobin tried to escape from the lap of the Santa, but failing and failed and got twisted in the Santa’s long suit. The picture Kelley took was of Tobin in mid fall, accidentally pulling Santa’s pants to the ground as she struggled to get away.

     “You bit…” The pantsed Santa began before he was caught off by Kelley.

     “Do you really think that’s the kind of language that you should be using toward my friend?” Kelley admonished.

     “No ma’am.” The santa apologized as he pulled his red pants over his Winnie the pooh underwear.

     Hope reluctantly sat on the embarrassed Santa’s lap. 

     “What do you want for Christmas?” The Santa mumbled.

     Kelley walked over to Hope and whispered in her ear.

     Hope smirked. “For Christmas, I want underwear just like yours.”

     The picture that Kelley got of Hope was Hope in mid laugh while the Santa looked like he wished that he had decided to stay inside his mother’s basement that day.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wraps up this little set of stories. (not the whole advent calendar, just the three)  
> I will get to the prompts you sent in now. Thank you so much for those. If you guys hadn't sent those in, I would probably be writing about the gals eating breakfast cereal because I ran out of ideas.   
> <3


	9. It snowed

     It never snowed in Portland. During the holidays, it was fifty degrees and rainy. If you wanted a white Christmas, you didn’t live in the Pacific Northwest. Which is why everyone was so surprised when, a week from Christmas, the biggest snow storm that Oregon had ever seen arrived.

    Tobin woke up that morning, and began to get dressed to go for a run. She was just stepping out of her apartment to have her foot sink in a white powder. Then, she was hit by a blast of biting wind.

     Quickly, she scampered back into the apartment and ran to her bedroom to wake Alex up.

     “Alex! It snowed! It actually snowed!”

     Alex groaned and rolled back over in bed. Tobin, who was really excited about the prospect of snow, ran over to Alex’s side and started shaking her so she would get up.

     “Alex, it actually snowed!” Tobin cheered.

     “Lies,” Alex mumbled. “You already tried to get me to wake up by saying that it snowed last week.”

     “I promise that it snowed, and if it didn’t I’ll make breakfast for the next week.” Tobin assured Alex.

     “Why would I want you to make breakfast? The only food you’re aloud to make is water.” Alex said.

     Tobin pretended to wince at Alex’s comment. “Harsh.” She said, slightly surprised at the quality of Alex’s insult.

     “Just get up!” Tobin said, channeling her inner excitement.

     “Fine.” Alex said as she rolled out of bed and peeked out the window.

     “It snowed!” Alex exclaimed, shocked.

     “I know!” Tobin shouted.

     The two ran outside and frolicked in the Christmas miracle. For the first time in over ten years, Portland would have a white Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short, but hey, I updated! I'm still at a 100% update rate. I'm proud of myself.   
> <3


	10. I'm really sorry

     I haven't posted in a few days, and I'm really sorry. Additionally, I will be taking this week off and I will start to post again the week before Christmas.

     This is for a few reasons, but the main one is that I just don't have enough time. I am doing multiple sports right now, and I also have to do school. It has become impossible to write these stories before midnight. There aren't enough hours in the day.

     Additionally, when I was trying to do everything, there wasn't enough time for me to do important things, like sleep. Some people can handle not sleeping, but I am not one of them. When I don't get enough sleep, I kind of fall apart and start crying at school. Which is not a fun.

     I want to be able to do my best work and post stories that I can be proud of. If I'm scrambling to write something in twenty seconds, it won't be good, and nobody will enjoy it. That's why I look forward to being able to produce good stories that you guys will (hopefully) enjoy next week. I just can't right now, and I'm really sorry. Thanks for understanding. 

<3

 


	11. Gingerbread

It was the day that Kelley waited all year for. Today, she would prove her dominance at decorating while shaming her friends for their inferior skills, all the while eating too much sugar. Today was the annual gingerbread decorating contest.

Kelley skipped out to the car and hopped into the passenger seat. Hope slid in and began the drive over to Cheney’s house, where they would meet the rest of the team. 

“You’re going down, Hope.” Kelley trash talked.

“Tell that to the trophy sitting in our living room with my name on it.” Hope shot back.

“Just because you won last year…”

“And the year before.” Hope interrupted.

“And the year before,” Kelley continued, “Doesn’t mean that you’ll win again. My decorating skills are legendary.”

     Hope rolled her eyes in response. Hope possessed an artistic eye and attention to detail that had lead to her victories for the past two years. Hope held the record for most times winning the contest at four, followed by Becky at three.

     Kelley spent the rest of the car ride sketching what her house would look like this year. She had an entire notebook dedicated to gingerbread sketches. She was determined that Hope would not beat her this year.

     Hope pulled up to Lauren’s house. Already, there was a line of their teammates’ cars parked around the block. The two exited the car and walked hand in hand up to the door. Once there, Kelley rung the doorbell. She always refused to knock, as she loved the obnoxious ring of the bell.

     The door was opened by an excited Tobin Heath, who was carrying a handful of sour patch kids. Kelley stole one of the sour candies from Tobin and entered the house.

     “Hey!” Tobin called out to Kelley.

     Kelley shrugged in Tobin’s direction. “It wasn’t like you were going to use them for your house.” She replied.

     Kelley walked into the kitchen to survey the building materials. Cheney had gone all out this year, and had practically turned her kitchen into a candy store. She had every candy know to man kind. In fact, Kelley, who considered herself a candy connoisseur, had never seen some of the candy placed on the table.

     “Wow Cheney, you really brought it this year.” Kelley said to Lauren, who had just entered the kitchen.

     “Yeah.” She replied, “I think I have everything. I don’t know why Tobin requested the sour patch kids, they’re disgusting and don’t go with Christmas decorations, but I got them. It seemed important to her.”

     Kelley was shocked at Cheney calling any type of candy disgusting, but was too in awe at the selection of sugar to say anything.

     “It’s about time to start.” Cheney said, “I’m going to get everybody.”

     The team assembled in the kitchen and picked out their house templates. They gathered around the counter where the candy was laid out and begun decorating. Kelley decided that the way to finally win was to make a house that was shocking. Her house would startle and frighten people into liking it. She decided that the theme of her house would be psychopath marshmallow snowman escaped from prison and is on a revenge mission. It took Kelley months to come up with a theme that good.

     Kelley started her decorating by hoarding all of the candy resembling people and the red frosting. Next, she took a candy cane, and broke it, leaving only the end. This, she fashioned into a knife by carving the end into a point. 

     She made the house look like the prison her marshmallow maniac had escaped from. The lawn was strewn with the bodies of the victims, covered in the frosting. Standing at the center of all the chaos was the snowman, its cheery smile very off putting. 

     Just as Kelley was putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece, Lauren called for the team to put their decorating tools down. It was time for the judging.

     The team, not being above bribing the judges so they would win, had made it necessary for a complex rating system to be devised. The team would go around, surveying the houses, and would vote for their favorite house besides their own. Then, with the houses narrowed down to the top twelve, the houses would go in a head to head battle. The team would vote between a set of two houses. In the result of a tie, the host would pick their favorite. The houses would compete until they were narrowed down to the top three, the host would pick first, second, and third place.

     As Kelley walked through the village of gingerbread, it became clear that there were a few front runners. Becky’s cottage, surrounded by ice cream cone trees painted a gorgeous scene. She created tiny woodland creatures using taffy and sprinkles. Tobin, not to anyone’s surprise, was another frontrunner, and created a beach house, complete with an ocean filled with surfers and a whale. However, Kelley stopped when she came to Hope’s. Powdered sugar created a winter wonderland around the house. Hope had taken the time to melt lifesavers to great stained glass windows. White trees stood next to the woodshed, covered by a coat of powder. Kelley was astonished by the beauty of it.

     The votes were tallied, and Kelley’s murder scene failed to make the top houses. Feeling miffed by this, Kelley crossed her arms and snacked on the remaining candy while the houses got whittled down into the top three. 

     Nobody was surprised when Hope took first place for the third year in a row. Becky came second, with Tobin not far behind with third. Hope was crowned the winner in an elaborate ceremony where the entire team bowed before her decorating prowess before Hope was presented with a large trophy that Kelley was sure would go on their mantle.

     The team celebrated into the night, when the guests began trickling out. Hope grabbed Kelley’s shoulder from behind. “Are you ready to go?” she asked.

     Kelley nodded and they headed out to the car after thanking Lauren for another successful party. They took their seats with Hope driving. 

     “I beat you again.” Hope teased.

     “I still think that you rigged the votes.” Kelley fake grumped.

     “Your house was really pretty, though.” Kelley conceded.

     “Well I do spend all year practicing.” Hope said.

     Kelley looked at Hope in disbelief. “Really?” She asked.

     “Of course not.” Hope laughed, “Who would spend all year working on a gingerbread house?” Kelley tucked her notebook full of gingerbread sketches under her arm.

     When Kelley and Hope got home, Hope put the trophy exactly where Kelley thought that she would: right at the center of the mantle above their fireplace. Kelley was tempted to take it down out of spite, but Hope’s house really was beautiful. Also, Kelley couldn’t reach it, and she wasn’t about to get a stepladder just to spite Hope. At least, not this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back! Thanks for being understanding about me taking the week off. I should be able to write something every day from now until Christmas. I have something special planned for Christmas day, that I've been thinking about since the first day I started writing these, so I'm excited for that.  
> This story is based off of a prompt from Talex4Life, so I want to say thanks to them. This was really fun to write. I hope it lived up to your expectations.  
> <3


	12. White Elephant

With a team full of twenty three women who were so competitive that they would sell their own souls just to win at monopoly, white elephant gifts were never a good idea. Which is why it was so surprising when Jill announced that there would be a white elephant gift exchange at their holiday party. The last time this had been done, schemes and bribery had made it so that half of the team had picked the lucky twenty third place. Jill had sworn that they would never do it again.

“Kelley had to have bribed Jill.” Tobin whispered to Amy and Lauren, who were sitting next to her. 

“I didn’t think that Jill was the type to take bribes.” Lauren replied.

Kelley interrupted their conversation to ask, “Do you think that she has selective amnesia and forgot the head injury Alex gave me when she wanted the scarf I got?” 

“For the last time,” Alex exclaimed, “That was an accident! And you totally provoked me.”

“You were holding the scarf above your head, daring Alex to fight you for it.” Tobin conceded. 

Interrupted from their side conversation by the end of the meeting, the group went back to their rooms to brainstorm ways to win the gift exchange. Kelley spent hours on her laptop learning how to use magic tricks to make sure she would have number twenty three. By the end of the day, she could successfully hide a slip of paper in her hand and make it look like she had taken it from the hat. 

Alex took a different route, and learned the art of pickpocketing from a very helpful Youtube tutorial. She figured that if one of her teammates got anything good, she could steal it without anybody noticing. 

Hope watched as her teammates prepared for the party and smiled to herself. This was going to be awesome.

The day of the party, the team gathered in the dining hall of the hotel they were staying at. They all eyed each other with suspicion, knowing the lengths everybody was willing to go just to get the present they wanted. 

One by one they laid their contributions, covered in brightly colored wrapping paper, onto the table in the middle of the room. Hope laid down a large bag. Duct tape sealed the top so that nobody would be able to look in. Then she sat back in the chair, a sly smirk on her face, and waited to watch as chaos unfurled.

Jill began the affair by having the team pick one my one from a hat and then hand their number to Dawn, who would write the number on a giant whiteboard placed at the front of the room. This process was to prevent any untruths about the number drawn. However, the cunning and desire to win the exchange was underestimated, and the white board ended up listing six number twenty threes, causing Jill to draw numbers for each of the team.

With everybody assigned a valid number, the gift distribution began. Kelley, despite her attempts at bribery, had drawn the unfortunate first place, and irritably grabbed the nearest gift. She unwrapped it with an over pronounced frown on her face. Her expression changed when she saw what she got. 

“I own the moon! The moon!” She yelled as she stood up on the couch.

“No,” Tobin said, who had drawn second, “I own the moon.” as she took the paper declaring her the owner of one acre of the moon from Kelley. 

Kelley collapsed back down onto the couch in disbelief. “I thought you were my friend.” She mumbled.

The following ten exchanges went with only a few disruptions including Kling threatening to use her skills as a black belt on an unsuspecting Moe, who just wanted Kling’s chocolate. There was a brief search for the scarf Megan had received, but it was soon found in Alex’s bag. Alex claimed that she had no knowledge of how it got in her bag, but Becky saw Alex slide the scarf when she thought that nobody was looking.

Everything fell to pieces when Moe opened Hope’s gift. Her face radiated joy when she saw what was in the bag. “Pre wrap.” she breathed. There were over twenty rolls in all different colors in the bag. It was soccer girl heaven. Moe hugged the package to her chest and hoped that nobody would steal it. 

However, Moe was not so lucky, and the very next turn, Julie grabbed the package. “No!” Morgan said defiantly, as she tightened her grip on the bag, determined not to relinquish her treasure. Morgan starred into Julie’s eyes, and Julie starred back. Neither were going to admit defeat. Julie made a sudden pull on the bag, and it almost slipped from Morgan’s grasp, but fueled by the desire for pre wrap, she managed to hold on. Moe tugged back, and before anybody knew it, they were in a full out tug of war battle. With one last triumphant tug from the two, the bag ripped, and pre wrap went flying through the air. 

Everybody pounced, trying to grab as many rolls as possible. Hope just sat back, a look of satisfaction caused by the chaos on her face. Her plan had succeeded. There was a full on brawl between Kelley, Alex, and Kling over a roll of polka dotted wrap. Tobin sat in the corner, hoarding a pile of wrap, hoping to go unnoticed. 

Christie, Abby and Carli tried to gain control of the situation, but their yells were drowned out by the sound of the scramble. 

Suddenly, there was a shrill whistle and everybody stopped. “Due to this madness, all of you will be running the beep test instead of training tomorrow. I hope it was worth it.” Dawn chastised. 

Heads hung, the team filed out of the party room, arms still filled with their prizes. As they left they heard Jill sigh, “Never again.” She groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another prompt that I got, and it was suggested by Goose1713, so I'd like to say thanks to them. I hope that I didn't ruin your idea.   
> It's almost Christmas! I'm excited!  
> <3


	13. Roudolph the Hustler

Kelley walked into the living room operatically hollering Christmas songs at the top of her lungs. “Oh holy niiiiiiiight! The stars are brightly shiiiinging! It is the niiiiiiight when our dear savior’s bored!” She belted.

“Did you just day that Jesus was bored?” Hope asked, questioningly.

“Yeah.” Kelley stated, “That’s how the song goes.”

Hope laughed, “No. It’s the night when he's _born_ , not bored. It doesn't make sense for him to be bored.”

Kelley’s face fell at this news. For all of her life, she had believed that on the night of his birth, at least according to the song, Jesus was bored. Hope’s correction was startling and slightly unsettling. It made Kelley question everything she ever knew.

“It’s not my fault.” kelley said about the incorrect lyrics, “If everybody over enunciated like Michael Bubble does, I would be fine. This would have never happened.”

“Michael Bubble? I think it’s pronounced Buble, Kelley.” Hope corrected.

This made Kelley sadder. In the course of one evening, everything she knew about Christmas had changed. It was Earth shattering. 

“I guess that this means that Rudolph wasn’t a pimp with a harem of hoes covered in glitter.” Kelley asked hesitantly.

“What?” Hope exclaimed. “How did you get that from the song?”

“You know, Rudolph the red nose reindeer had some very shiny hoes. I always wondered why they would put that in a song for kids.” Kelley explained.

“No Kelley. He had a shiny nose.” Hope was almost in tears from laughter about Rudolph the promiscuous reindeer.

“Oh.” Kelley said quietly.

Hope continued to laugh at how mistaken Kelley was. Frankly, this was making her day. Hope wrapped her arm around Kelley’s shoulders, hoping to comfort her.

“Think about how much better the Christmas songs would be if they were sung the way you thought they were. They would be awesome.” Hope consoled.

“Yeah,” Kelley said as she snuggled into Hope’s shoulder, “My version is better.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is short, but it was really fun to write. One more day! Merry Christmas eve to all of you! I'm excited to write tomorrow's story. I've had the basic idea since way back in November. I think that I've made it cooler in my mind than it actually is, but that'll be fine.  
> <3


	14. The Best Present

Late at night, right before the clock turned to midnight, officially making it Christmas, Ashlyn Harris tiptoed into the living room of the house she shared with Ali. Silently, she filled her girlfriend’s fuzzy white stocking, taking great care with the small square package, covered in brown paper with a small white bow tied at the top. Finishing with her preparations, Ashlyn crept back to the bedroom, taking care to not wake Ali up. She snuggled back into her down covers, placing a quick kiss on Ali’s forehead, before falling asleep, despite her anticipation for the following morning.

“Hey.” Ali whispered, gently nudging Ash awake. “It’s Christmas.”

Ashlyn turned over and blinked the sleep from her eyes. Slowly, the meaning of Ali’s words hit her. It was **Christmas**. Eagerly, she jumped out of bed, barely waiting for her feet to hit the floor before rushing towards the living room. Ali followed closely behind, amused at her girlfriend’s excitement.

Ali joined Ashlyn on the floor, sitting cross legged by where the stocking were laid out. All Ashlyn could focus on was the package at the tope of Ali’s stocking.

“Open it.” She told Ali, nodding toward the package, managing to sound both excited and terrified at the same time.

Ali picked up the present and carefully pulled off the tape, and unraveled the wrapping paper. Her eyes crinkled into a smile. Her mouth opened into a silent gasp, unable to speak.

A tentative smile appeared on Ashlyn’s face. She didn’t have an elaborate speech. The ring said enough.

 

 

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! It's over. Wow. I had been looking forward to writing this for a while. Cardinal1998 sent in a similar prompt, so that kind of reenforced the idea that I should write this. I hope it turned out well.  
> Thank you so much for reading these stories. It was so awesome writing them. Hopefully I'll do this again next year.  
> I'll start writing some more stories soon, and hopefully I'll update the fic that I'm working on. I kind of neglected it writing these.  
> Thank you so much!  
> <3


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